JavaScript variable assignments from tuples

Question

In other languages like Python 2 and Python 3, you can define and assign values to a tuple variable, and retrieve their values like this:

tuple = (\"Bob\", 2         


        

Answer 1

This is not intended to be actually used in real life, just an interesting exercise. See Why is using the JavaScript eval function a bad idea? for details.

This is the closest you can get without resorting to vendor-specific extensions:

myArray = [1,2,3];
eval(set('a,b,c = myArray'));

Helper function:

function set(code) {
    var vars=code.split('=')[0].trim().split(',');
    var array=code.split('=')[1].trim();
    return 'var '+vars.map(function(x,i){return x+'='+array+'['+i+']'}).join(',');
}

Proof that it works in arbitrary scope:

(function(){
    myArray = [4,5,6];
    eval(set('x,y,z = myArray'));
    console.log(y);  // prints 5
})()

eval is not supported in Safari.